What is the mechanism that allows birds to build nests, beavers to build dams, or spiders to spin webs – without anyone teaching them how?

Question

Those are awfully complex structures, I couldn’t make one!

In: 613

Answer 1

[Stigmergy](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stigmergy)! Agent based computer simulations with very few rules can make quite complex structures and exhibit behaviors very similar to, e.g., termites, bees, or ants.